Sport + Motorsport
Southland's Seth Morrow has done it again. The 18-year-old swept both motos at round seven of the Australian ProMX Championships at Conondale, Queensland on Sunday — his second consecutive 1-1 result in the MX3 development class.
Fastest in qualifying and first across the line in both races at the Green Park Motocross Track, Morrow was the standout performer among a squad of 11 New Zealanders competing in the series.
"You can't really ask for more, really," Morrow said. "Another perfect day for me, fastest in qualifying and first in both races. I'm stoked. Ever since my first time on track, I just gelled with the bike, the track and everything and put it all together."
In moto one, Morrow sat patiently in third before making his move. Calculated, not cautious.
"I had those couple boys in front of me and just didn't really feel the need that I had to get to the front," he said. "I just scouted out a couple of lines that I knew I could pass on. And then I passed them both in the same lap. Then I tried putting a good few heaters down to put a bit of a gap between us."
MX3 championship leader Hayden Draper, racing for Monster Energy Yamaha, was battling illness and could only manage 6-3 on the day. His lead over Morrow in the standings has narrowed — Draper sits on 270 points, Morrow now fourth on 223, with one round remaining.
Also flying the Southland flag was Jack Symon, who made his debut in the premier MX1 class. The 21-year-old went 13-12 against a field packed with elite riders, getting strong starts that allowed him to mix it with the lead pack across full 25-minute motos.
"I couldn't ask for a better day," Symon said. "I had good starts — got out of the box really well. I struggled with needing a little bit more power against those top guys, but it is what it is. I feel like I made up for it — charged the whole moto, had some good battles and the track was awesome."
Symon added: "I know I can get a good start. So I went in with the mindset of I know what I can do. I didn't doubt myself — I just put myself in the race, found my groove and rode my race. It was a really fun day."
In the women's MXW class, Karaitana Horne went 9-8, hampered by crashes but still competitive in a field that included some of the fastest women motocross riders in the world. Mikayla Griffiths went 13-14.
"In the first moto I made up for a bad first turn, made a few passes and got myself into a good space," Horne said. "Then, as I was going to pass this other chick, I just tipped off in the corner. I got back on and fought my way back into the top 10. I was not really happy with that. I did need to work on a few things for the second moto, but I did, and it was better."
The eighth and final round takes place at Queensland Moto Park on August 1-2, with Draper chasing the MX3 title.